In J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

's legendarium

Legendarium

Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...

, Caranthir is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

, the fourth of the sons of Fëanor

Sons of Fëanor

In J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, the seven sons of Fëanor, the eldest prince of the Noldor, led their people from Valinor to rule over kingdoms in the Northeast of Beleriand:...

, was also the harshest, and the quickest to anger; he was also called "Caranthir the Dark". His Quenya

Quenya

Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...

 name was Morifinwë "The Dark Finwë

Finwë

Finwë, sometimes surnamed Noldóran, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was the first High King of the Elven Noldor to lead his people on the journey from Middle-earth to Valinor in the blessed realm of Aman. He was a great friend of Elu Thingol, the King of Doriath...

". Nerdanel gave him the mother name Carnistir, which means "Red Face".

As the other Sons of Fëanor, Caranthir was bound by an oath to recover his father's Silmarils, which had been stolen by the Dark Lord Morgoth

Morgoth

Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...

. This oath took the seven brothers to Middle-earth

Middle-earth

Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....

 during the First Age

First Age

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...

 where they established realms in exile, waged war against the armies of Morgoth, fought their own Elvish

Elf (Middle-earth)

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...

 kind, and eventually brought ruin upon themselves.

Caranthir was present at Alqualondë, and also at the burning of the ships at Losgar. In the council of Noldor

Noldor

In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...

in princes at Mithrim after the abdication of Maedhros

Maedhros

Maedhros is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. First introduced in The Silmarillion and later mentioned in Unfinished Tales and The Children of Húrin, he is one of the most enduring characters in The Silmarillion, and has been the subject of paintings by artists such as Jenny...

, he spoke out harshly against Angrod

Angrod

In J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe, Angrod was a son of Finarfin and lord of the Noldor.Angrod was the elder brother of Galadriel and Aegnor, and the younger brother of Finrod Felagund. He joined the Exile of the Noldor to Middle-earth, where together with Aegnor he held the highlands of...

, and was rebuked by Maedhros. He had little love for his cousins, the sons of Finarfin

Finarfin

Finarfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.-Personality:Unlike the warlike Fëanor and Fingolfin, Finarfin was something of a pacifist...

. Caranthir accompanied his brother to East Beleriand, and build forts on the western slopes of mount Rerir. Caranthir's realm was in Thargelion, and was sometimes called Dor Caranthir (Caranthir's land) ; his abode was on the shores of Lake Helevorn. After the Dagor Bragollach

Dagor Bragollach

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, the Dagor Bragollach was the fourth battle of the Wars of Beleriand...

 he fled south to Amon Ereb with his brother Amrod

Amrod

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Amrod is a fictional character, a twin of Amras youngest sons of Fëanor. From their mother Nerdanel they inherited red hair, instead of Fëanor's black....

.

Caranthir controlled the Dwarven traffic through his realms and thus gained great wealth. He was haughty in dealing with the Naugrim and thus there was little warmth between the Noldor and the Dwarves

Dwarf (Middle-earth)

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....

.
He rescued Lady Haleth

Haleth

Haleth is a fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She was a leader of the Second House of the Edain, called the Folk of Haleth after her....

 of the Edain

Edain

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....

, and her people, the Haladin, as they were besieged by Orcs

Orc (Middle-earth)

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...

. He then saw the valour of Men

Man (Middle-earth)

The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...

, and offered the Haladin free lands in the North, but Haleth, thanking him, refused and left. The Folk of Ulfang swore fealty to him, and were allowed to settle in Thargelion. Ulfang's son Uldor would betray the Noldor during the fifth battle

Nirnaeth Arnoediad

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth, the Nírnaeth Arnoediad or Unnumbered Tears was the climactic Fifth Battle in the Wars of Beleriand.-The Fifth Battle as told in The Silmarillion:...

.

Caranthir perished along with his brothers Celegorm

Celegorm

Celegorm is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, appearing in The Silmarillion.He was the third son of Fëanor and Nerdanel, most closely associated with another brother, Curufin. Celegorm is described as "the fair," which could mean either that Celegorm had fairer...

 and Curufin

Curufin

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Curufin is a fictional character, a prince of the Noldor of the race of Elves, the fifth of the seven sons of Fëanor and Nerdanel...

 during the Second Kinslaying — the attack by the Sons of Fëanor

Sons of Fëanor

In J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, the seven sons of Fëanor, the eldest prince of the Noldor, led their people from Valinor to rule over kingdoms in the Northeast of Beleriand:...

 on Menegroth to recover the Silmaril from Elven King Dior of Doriath

Doriath

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Doriath is the realm of the Sindar, the Grey Elves of King Thingol in Beleriand. Along with the other great forests of Tolkien's legendarium such as Mirkwood, Fangorn and Lothlórien it serves as the central stage in the theatre of its time, the First Age...

.

He was called Cranthor in The Book of Lost Tales

The Book of Lost Tales

The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...

and Cranthir in early versions of The Quenta Silmarillion

Quenta Silmarillion

Quenta Silmarillion is a collection of fictional legends written by the high fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published after the author's death in The Silmarillion together with four shorter stories...

. In one version of the tale, Caranthir attacked and destroyed the Dwarves of Nogrod after their sack of Doriath.